It's February 1 and we here in Minnesota are waiting for two events- the Super Bowl this evening and to hear from the mouth of Punxsatawney Phil that spring is right around the corner. Today is absolutely gorgeous, sunny and warm, so very different from the last time we wrote a post. It's a whopping 35 degrees and we're loving it. We haven't been this warm since November 6, which happened to be the day we went into the hospital to be induced. So it's been almost 3 months since we were this warm. We're planning on taking a walk this afternoon to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine; we're hoping that the warmer temperatures will have melted some of the snow pack on the roads to make pushing the stroller more manageable!

It's been a busy couple of weeks since we last wrote. Alyssa started Day Care and I went back to school. Alyssa is doing great at day care, I think she enjoys being around the other kids. Aaron drops her off in the mornings and picks her up most afternoons. He says that all of the kids love her (what's not to love?!); I guess when she arrives in the morning, they swarm her, wanting to say hello, check out what she's wearing, and get her to smile. The day care provider does a great job of keeping track when she ate, napped, and changed her diaper. She also writes us a little note each day to tell us what she did; we've been keeping them all because they're kind of fun. This was her comment from one day last week:
Alyssa loved group time. We all get on the floor and sing songs and clap and read a story. Today she joined us. She smiled the whole time. She did great with tummy time and was also a great eater!!

Aaron and I are learning just how quickly an evening goes though on the days she goes to day care. By the time we get her home, play with her, give her a bath, eat dinner, she naps, and we feed her, it's time for Alyssa to go to bed.

I'm finding the balance between work and Alyssa a nice change. I'm really enjoying being back at school and getting back into my research. Monday and Wednesdays I focus primarily on preparing myself to teach and teaching, and Tuesdays and Saturdays I work on my dissertation. I've actually made a little (very little but it's something) progress in the analysis. Right now I'm preparing the paperwork to possibly travel back to San Antonio again in May to collect some more data. We're not quite sure how this is going to work with Alyssa yet, but we're working on it.

As I said, Alyssa is enjoying day care. She's become so much more aware of what's going on around her. At our Mom and Baby class, she's starting to look at the other babies, and when we were at the stores yesterday and today, you could see her checking out all the colors and shapes. She's found her hands in the past few weeks; she likes to look at her fists and suck on both hands. She's got chapped skin on both hands on the area around her pointer finger and thumb from so much sucking; I think at times she'd put her whole fist in her mouth if it would fit! Since she's found her hands she's begun to reach for more things, mostly the little toys that hang on her activity mat and bouncer seat. She doesn't have the best aim, but she's getting there. She'll even pull on some of them enough to get them to make noise.

It's amazing how quickly she changes. Sometime in the past week she's gotten so much stronger and is really holding her head up while she's on her stomach; she's pushing herself up while on her stomach also. This is a pretty big step for our little one. I think the next milestone will be rolling over. She's almost there, she's definitely rolling onto her side, but hasn't quite made it over yet. Yesterday I helped her roll over onto her tummy, and she immediately rolled back on to her back, but I think that might have been a fluke. Maybe by the next time we write a post, she'll be rolling. She is definitely squirming though. We'll put her in her crib at night with her head by the monitor, and in the morning her head is at the other end of the crib and her feet are by the monitor - silly little girl! Good thing she's in a crib.

I think Alyssa is becoming a Daddy's girl. She recognizes him immediately when he comes home from work, even stopping from eating to give him a smile. She really likes bathtime with daddy and dancing with him. We've included a video of her laughing while dancing wtih Aaron and of her getting a "facial" from me. These are her two favorite activities for the moment. We hope you enjoy the photos and videos and we'll update you again soon on Alyssa's newest accomplishments. Thanks for humoring us and letting us share all about our little one. We look forward to hearing from you soon!